Putin's "election"

Angry Russians empty colored liquids into ballot boxes

A woman in Moscow casting her ballot.

(Bild: APA/AFP/NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA)

Uproar on election day in Russia: in various regions of the country, voters are emptying colorful liquids into the ballot boxes. They stain the ballot papers so much that they can no longer be deciphered during the evaluation. In Saint Petersburg, a Molotov cocktail was even detonated outside a polling station.

A blonde young woman walks inconspicuously to the ballot box in the capital Moscow and throws her ballot paper into it. She then uses a bottle to pour dark liquid through the slot, soaking all the paper inside. Men approach her. She calmly pulls out her smartphone and takes photos, as a video shared by "Nexta" and the Telegram channel "Baza" shows.

According to "Baza", the woman is said to have shouted Ukrainian slogans and spoken to someone on the phone. It is speculated that this action was ordered by someone. The authorities say that the woman is already under investigation.

Several incidents already reported
This was not an isolated incident - more and more actions of this kind are now being reported. Even the Russian state news agency "RIA Novosti" admits to two such stories. "In two regions, ink was poured into the ballot box; both women and men are involved. Apparently they are being offered money for it," Interfax also quotes a government representative. Now there are calls for tighter security.

A woman in Moscow casting her ballot.

(Bild: APA/AFP/NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA)

Young Russian woman protests with Molotov cocktail
In the northern metropolis of Saint Petersburg, a 21-year-old woman set off a Molotov cocktail outside a polling station, reports "Fontanka". According to the report, the explosive mixture was probably thrown at a poster for the presidential election. The young woman has already been arrested by the police. According to preliminary information, she was allegedly offered a reward for such an act in a Ukrainian Telegram channel.

Putin seeks fifth term in office
A controversial presidential election to keep Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in power has begun in Russia with the opposition excluded. The vote in the giant country with its eleven time zones will last until Sunday evening, when the last polling stations in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea close at 7 pm CET. The first forecasts are expected immediately afterwards.

Russian state pollsters have already predicted that Putin, who has been in power for almost a quarter of a century and is seeking a fifth term in office, will receive more than 80 percent of the vote. That would be the highest result ever for him. Putin's three competitors are not only considered to have no chance. They are also all in line with the Kremlin and sometimes directly support the incumbent. Candidates who spoke out against Putin's war of aggression were not even admitted as candidates.